Industry Observations- Jan 2012 Newsletter

Industry Observations

I don’t know about all of you, but I couldn’t be more excited for 2012 in this industry.  I’ve been on the road quite a bit lately and have had the opportunity to interact with a lot of people and see a lot of great technologies.  As a result, I’ve got a few observations to share with all of you.

Tag Management

It’s no secret that the tag management space has really picked up; however, it’s not just about the implementation of an analytics vendor like Adobe or Google Analytics. Instead, Tag management has really become the foundational component for clients to build a scalable and mature analytics program that expands well beyond just the web. You need to be able to act quickly and bring many datasets together these days and Tag Management gives you that power.  A few quick points to note in this space:

♦ Ensighten had their first-annual user conference last week and had a great turnout

♦ Tealium just announced additional partnerships for their solution

♦ BrightTag just became a corporate member of the WAA

Web Analytics?  Digital Analytics?

I keep hearing some people refer to “web analytics” and mean just the web, and I think that’s a big problem.  I’ve heard several people attempt to correct it and say “digital analytics” but I still feel like that misses the mark a bit.  Sure, “digital analytics” does a good job of extending beyond the website and into areas such as Social, Mobile, etc. but I just don’t think it tells the correct story.  At Stratigent, we have considered it to be “multi-channel analytics” for the last few years and that’s what we consult on for our clients.  Digital in combination with the offline is truly where this industry is heading, and many are already there.  The ecosystem of technologies organizations will be using to make better business decisions is growing by the minute and gives new meaning to the words “open” and “integration” as it pertains to the infrastructure. 

Social Media

If I’ve learned anything this month, it’s that attaching the words “social media” to anything you do, whether it’s a panel, presentation, or webinar, will instantly mean you end up with a “standing room only” type crowd.  I had the pleasure of moderating a Social Media Measurement panel in conjunction with the Web Analytics Association here in Chicago and was impressed by the turnout as well as the discussion between the panelists and attendees.  I’m so happy to see that everyone has moved beyond the whole “wow, social media is cool!” sentiment and instead is trying to answer the following questions:

♦ Is social media right for my business?

♦ What should I be measuring and how do I do that?

Check out a great recap blog post about the WAA Chicago Chapter discussion.

As I mentioned, this is going to be a very exciting year for this industry and Stratigent will continue to be here to help you get the most out of your multi-channel analytics initiatives.  I’d love to hear what you’re seeing in the industry as well, and I’m hoping to start up a “mail bag” for future newsletters and blogs.  So, please let me know if you have any questions at all and I will try to answer as many of them as possible each month in one form or another.